3 Real Life Stories About Life Insurance

Everyone will need life insurance at some point in their life. The type of policy and amount of insurance a person needs varies from person to person. A nationwide study by LearnVest and Guardian showed that one third of people who have life insurance do not know what type of policy they have. And though 70% felt confident that their policy would pay out if the need arose, only 34% said that they would know how to collect a payout. It’s important to educate your clients about the policies that you sell them. Read these 3 Real Life Stories from Forbes.com about life insurance and how it did or did not effect their lives.

The first story talks about a young expecting mother who thought that she should wait until she was expecting to apply for insurance. Little did she know that the temporary conditions during pregnancy would cause her rate to increase by more than 4 times the quoted premium. Although most companies will allow for weight gain during pregnancy, factors such as high blood pressure and depression will prevent you from getting the best rates.

Next you will read about a young expecting couple who disagreed about the need for life insurance. While the wife thought that she was only 24 and had plenty of time to purchase life insurance her husband didn’t want to put it off and insisted that they purchase life insurance now. It’s a good thing that her husband realized that anything can happen at any moment. Cathy became a widow at the young age of 26 when her husband was killed in an accident at work. Cathy was so thankful that her husband realized that because of their family, life insurance was essential.

Lastly, learn about a young stay at home mom who realized that her husbands small life insurance policy through his employer would not go far in the event of her husbands untimely death. Thankfully this mom purchased an additional term life insurance policy on her husband because just a few short years later he was killed in a plane crash. Because she realized the importance of additional life insurance she was able to remain a stay at home mom and didn’t have to worry about how to provide for her two daughters while they were growing up.

A few short years later, my mother was at my grandparents’ house on a step ladder when she suddenly felt faint and needed to lie down. My grandmother sees this as proof of my mother and father’s tight bond, because at almost that exact time in New Jersey, my father radioed the airport, saying the right engine of his plane was on fire. A few minutes later, he radioed again, saying the engine had broken off and he was in a downward spiral. Those were his last words. The official report listed the damage to the plane as “destroyed.”

The thing is, life went on, and I have many happy memories. I remember my mother asking me a few months later what color I wanted my new bedroom to be. (“Pink!”) I remember Mrs. Stamp’s private pre-school, where I learned about cocoons and how to spell “cat.” I remember walking, my hand in my sister’s, on the way to our grandparents’ house for a delicious Southern dinner of chicken and dumplings. I also remember my mother tapping numbers into her desk calculator, and the “chit chit chit” of it printing the results on ticker tape. She never looked at the numbers on the tape with panic or worry.

None of this would have been possible without life insurance.

James passed away on a Tuesday in March. The weekend before, we’d had an especially good time together. That Monday evening, my neighbor came over to watch a show. James sat with us but left early and was already asleep when I joined him later.

The next morning, he left for work without me seeing him. Whether he kissed me goodbye while I slept, I’ll never know. I had a hair appointment with the woman across the street. I was sitting in a chair in her basement when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned to see my brother, Paul, who, like James, was a construction worker. He looked at me and said, “Cathy, we have to go.”

I remember him pulling me out of the chair, and driving to the hospital. My first words were, “How bad?”

He just squeezed my hand.

When we arrived at the ER, the other construction workers were there. It was hard for them to look at me—and that’s when I knew.

My story is a reminder that once you have a family—no matter your age—life insurance is absolutely essential.

I didn’t want to think about that at the time, but lucky for me, my husband had.

*Names have been changed.

3. Life Insurance Saved My Family

Life was good for my family in 1989. My father was the well-paid president of a marketing company, and made extra income from his side consulting business. My mother stayed at home raising my sister and me. She hadn’t worked since 1980, when my sister was born.

My mother set the budget, handled the mortgage paperwork on our new home and paid the bills. Around the time I was born, she took a look at my dad’s life insurance coverage through his job. Many basic policies from employers will pay only about $30,000—not enough to support a family our size for very long.

So she set about calculating how much we would need if something were to happen, taking into account things like our mortgage and living expenses. She took out an additional term life policy to cover him, and a whole life policy for herself that was also meant to finance my sister’s and my college educations.

She didn’t know at the time, but it would turn out to be the smartest financial decision she would ever make.

A few short years later, my mother was at my grandparents’ house on a step ladder when she suddenly felt faint and needed to lie down. My grandmother sees this as proof of my mother and father’s tight bond, because at almost that exact time in New Jersey, my father radioed the airport, saying the right engine of his plane was on fire. A few minutes later, he radioed again, saying the engine had broken off and he was in a downward spiral. Those were his last words. The official report listed the damage to the plane as “destroyed.”

The thing is, life went on, and I have many happy memories. I remember my mother asking me a few months later what color I wanted my new bedroom to be. (“Pink!”) I remember Mrs. Stamp’s private pre-school, where I learned about cocoons and how to spell “cat.” I remember walking, my hand in my sister’s, on the way to our grandparents’ house for a delicious Southern dinner of chicken and dumplings. I also remember my mother tapping numbers into her desk calculator, and the “chit chit chit” of it printing the results on ticker tape. She never looked at the numbers on the tape with panic or worry.

None of this would have been possible without life insurance.

The information in this article is designed to be general in nature and for educational purposes only. LearnVest and Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents or employees do not give tax or legal advice. You should consult your tax or legal advisor regarding your individual situation.